Boston Canucker wrote:I hope they go with Stevens, not Tortorella. Stevens' work with LA seems impressive, and he's coached at all levels, with many different types of players. My issue with Torts is not his personality, but that I actually don't think he gets the best out of his players, or if he does it is very short term, wears them out. I don't think he got the best out of Nash or Gaborik for eg., and NYR's pp and general offense was not the least bit impressive. I'm really not interested in us becoming team shotblock...no evidence this leads to Cups. I sense Stevens is the better choice, hope MG goes this way.

I disagree somewhat there, Gaborik did have his career best seasons under Torts, hitting 40 goals twice. Nash is a 60-70 point player, who puts in 30+ goals. Nash's first season under Torts had him at a 80 point pace (would have been a career year) and almost 40 goals.

I do agree that Nash and others took big steps back under Torts in the playoffs this year. On the one hand its troubling to see the players not respond at the critical time of year, on the other hand the NYR run this year was quite remarkable considering how little offensive production they got from their stars.

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I meant in the playoffs. AV's regular season teams were not the issue, it was the playoffs as we know (except for 2011). I didn't see Torts getting the most out of his big guys in the playoffs. If it is Torts, I'll certainly hope for the best, and we'll likely see some a different type of approach for the Canucks on the ice...but as we know it's all about playoffs, and there, I don't know...I will enjoy him snapping at Gallagher and Botch, won't mind that a bit.

And you also have to think that Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini wants to change the message and take players out of a comfort zone. He wants a butt-kicker, and if that’s the case, -Gillis will have to make sure somebody is wearing the white hat and patting players on the back.

That’s how it works in the NHL. Tortorella had Craig Ramsay as that kind of assistant in Tampa Bay when the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004.

“Torts is a very good coach who wears people thin,” said an NHL source. “He had no filter in New York and John needs a filter. Craig Ramsay was a great fit. There was all kinds of intensity coming from the bench in New York and no backdrop at all.”

Kind of like Vigneault and Rick Bowness in Vancouver. They may have had their differences behind the scenes, but always presented a united front. The search for the right associate coach for the Canucks could be as important as hiring the right head coach.

“We were like an old married couple,” Bowness said of Vigneault when the former Canucks associate accepted a three-year contract to have the same role with rookie head coach Jon Cooper in Tampa Bay.

“We’d yell and scream at each other behind the scenes and then we’d walk out and we’re one voice. It’s smooth and it works.”

Although I'd rather all the coaches are assholes.

Players too, assholes understand assholes and are not put off by assholes.

And you also have to think that Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini wants to change the message and take players out of a comfort zone. He wants a butt-kicker, and if that’s the case, -Gillis will have to make sure somebody is wearing the white hat and patting players on the back.

That’s how it works in the NHL. Tortorella had Craig Ramsay as that kind of assistant in Tampa Bay when the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004.

“Torts is a very good coach who wears people thin,” said an NHL source. “He had no filter in New York and John needs a filter. Craig Ramsay was a great fit. There was all kinds of intensity coming from the bench in New York and no backdrop at all.”

Kind of like Vigneault and Rick Bowness in Vancouver. They may have had their differences behind the scenes, but always presented a united front. The search for the right associate coach for the Canucks could be as important as hiring the right head coach.

“We were like an old married couple,” Bowness said of Vigneault when the former Canucks associate accepted a three-year contract to have the same role with rookie head coach Jon Cooper in Tampa Bay.

“We’d yell and scream at each other behind the scenes and then we’d walk out and we’re one voice. It’s smooth and it works.”

Although I'd rather all the coaches are assholes.

Players too, assholes understand assholes and are not put off by assholes.

Boston Canucker wrote:Sorry, I should have been clearer. I meant in the playoffs. AV's regular season teams were not the issue, it was the playoffs as we know (except for 2011). I didn't see Torts getting the most out of his big guys in the playoffs.

Ah, gotcha. He did get a solid performance in Richards' first season, though Gaborik always saw a dip. In general though first line forwards see a pretty big dip in the post-season, due to match-ups and improved defending over the course of a season. I don't know what happened with Richards getting 1 point in 10 games but that basically killed Torts. Tortorella's championship team was extremely top-heavy in production though, as he got stellar performances out of Richards, St Louis, and Modin, and very solid showings from Lecavalier, Andreychuk and Fedotenko - basically the top 6 clearly carried the load for that team.

(As an aside I think its awesome that when looking at old stats and box scores I can actually reference a championship season with Torts, instead of trying to identify the least disappointing season of AV's)

I will enjoy him snapping at Gallagher and Botch, won't mind that a bit.

Amen, brother!

I noticed Botchford's drivel getting tons of re-tweets from virtually every TSN reporter, so I suspect he may wind up there now that he's left the TEAM.

Twitter world has what seem to be legit sources saying it's going to be Torts. One source even has him on a flight to Van. Good grief. I was for AV being let go, after two straight 1st round losses, but in this coaching trade, we lose! Here's hoping for the best from Coach Shotblock, yikesorama...hey Gallagher, prepare to meet your maker!!

If this is true perhaps the best question is who will be first out the door: Torts or Gillis? Not to have an ideal replacement coach lined up when you fire the incumbent is bad management. Having to scrape the bottom of the barrel of what's left is no management at all. I can't think of a worse choice to coach a bunch of skilled veterans. Sharpen the knives.